


Her

by thealphadog



Category: Chaos Walking - Patrick Ness
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Love, One Shot, Post-Monsters of Men, Tiola, Tiola will singlehandedly save my dark soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 18:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14314278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphadog/pseuds/thealphadog
Summary: I don’t know how to describe it, but when I opened my eyes it was like I was comin’ home.'Cuz there she is.





	Her

**Author's Note:**

> Finally I've caved and written a one shot for the greatest trilogy in literature. Todd and Viola are probably the purest ship I've ever had the pleasure of shipping. So I had to write this. 
> 
> Shoutout to the CHAOSWALK Groupchat on Twitter, and Patrick Ness himself.
> 
> Enjoy x

I don’t know how to describe it, but when I opened my eyes it was like I was comin’ home. Like I was seeing my Mum for the first time since she died and all I felt was _warmth_. Real, solid, warmth.

I sit up and burst out “ _Effing_ hell—,” ‘Cept I dont say ‘effing’, I say the real word, cuz there’s this pain that jolted through my middle like the first time I ever got punched by Aaron, but worse. Ten times worse.

And she’s pushing me back down, her face red and blotchy and smiling—

That’s when I notice that she’s crying and her tears are getting all over my face, but I don’t bother to rub them away because it’s her and she’s kneeling over me right now. Right now and here—

It’s Viola. Viola and me. Me and Viola.

And I can’t help it but I rush up again and ignore the pain that spreads through my gut ‘cuz I just have to hug her, I have to.

And I can hear my own Noise again—

I couldn’t hear it when I was asleep, or when I was dead, or when I was anything.

But I hear it now and it’s yelling, it’s yelling and screaming.

**_Viola Viola Viola Viola Viola Viola._ **

**_It’s you,_ **

**_You’re here,_ **

**_Viola Viola Viola._ **

“Todd. Todd. Todd. Todd.” She mutters, and it makes me laugh cuz it was a funny joke. She’s always been funny. And she’s in my arms with her head right on my shoulder and her arms wrapped all the way around me. And she’s so warm, even though she’s shakin’ like a leaf. “You’re awake.”

She whispers that right in my ear and I can’t help but think about before, when her lips were pressed on mine and it was as if we were the only two goddamn people in this world, where we didn’t have to effing worry about President Prentiss or the Noise or the Spackle or anythin’—

Cuz it was just us. And it’ll always be just us in this world. Even if the whole damn planet blows up it’ll still be just us.

 

“Todd,” Viola says, and she’s holding a spoon in front of my face and I’m embarrassed about it, cuz she’s feeding me like I’m a baby.

But I don’t tell her to stop, cuz I can see that it makes her feel better whenever she’s around me and she feels like she’s doing something to help, so I let her, cuz it’s her. Anyone else tried this and they’d be laying on the floor from where I just punched em.

Viola smiles then cuz she just read my Noise. And I get even more embarrassed from that cuz she knows I’m one helluva wimp, and I know it too.

When you’ve been asleep, or dead, or non-existent for so long you learn to appreshiate the small things that you didn’t before.

The constant **_Whirler boy_** ’s

And **_Where’s my safety?_** ’s

The _**Poo, Todd**_ ’s. That’s the one I miss the most, cuz that damn dog saved me and cared for me even when I pretended not to care back.

The sound of another person breathing near you and the way that you can just feel when someone is close to you so even if you cant see em, even if your eyes are closed, you know that they’re there with you.

“I’m here,” Viola’s voice is so coarse and small but I hear it as loud as day and I open my eyes then. I drifted off, I must have, cuz she’s lying on the floor next to my bed and it makes me angry that she don’t look comfortable.

So obviously, cuz I’m a gentleman, I shove up and make space for her.

And she knows I have cuz she listened to my Noise and she gets up then, her face still slightly red and her eyes droopy from being sleepy and she crawls into the bed next to me without hesitatshun.

The she sorta snuggles her head into my shoulder and my arm is holding her and the other is fiddling with her hair and the smell, the sensashun of just being this close again, of being able to see her when we both want to instead of being controlled, instead of being held captive like the Spackle that didn’t deserve it.

 

I think of all we’ve been through then—

Prentisstown,

Ben and Cillian—

The crash,

Aaron, _effing_ Aaron.

The way she used to be so silent with me,

And look at me like I was crazy—

And how she blew up that bridge without any hesitatsun.

That _effing_ croc,

And Hildy and Tam and Wilf.

The Spackle in their field,

And Davy.

_Davy._

How being a man was all fake—

And how being a man isn’t even good.

The way she looks when the wind blows through her hair

And how

(even if she’s tired beyond belief)

She acts like she’s the strongest person in the world.

Cuz she is, to me.

How her body moves up and down when she’s breathing deeply

And how it feels to have her in my arms

And so close—

**_So close._ **

 

“Shhh,” She mutters, tiredly. Her hand crawls up my chest then and she rests it on my cheek and moves so that her eyes can meet mine and I’m embarrassed again, cuz she just heard all that stuff about her in my Noise, didn’t she.

“Todd Hewitt,” she says and I swallow cuz suddenly my heart rate has gone up by a hundred and I really want her to kiss me or do something. “The boy who always tried to make me feel comfy—

“And safe and warm.

“Who always gave me space if I needed it,

“Who cared about me and got jealous about Hildy and being a girl,

“And boys.” And she laughs then, and I know she’s thinkin’ about Lee and how it was never him.

“Who saved this settlement.

“Who is the best man I’ve ever known.”

Jesus, is it hot in here? Cuz it’s like I can’t breathe right now and I dont really know how to react to that.

So I do the thing that I think is probably the best way to say thanks,

And I grab her hand that rests on my cheek and I squeeze it,

And I move my own hand over to her neck and fiddle with her hair—

Just to stall myself—

Cuz, eff, it’s nerve-racking kissing someone you really love.

And that’s when she lets out another laugh and then plunges her lips against mine and I’m so happy that she has, cuz I really am a bit of a wimp.

But that’s OK—

That’s OK—

 

Cuz it was just us. And it’ll always be just us in this world. Even if the whole damn planet blows up—

_**It’ll still be just us.** _


End file.
